Purgatory's paradox
by Mahinahaze
Summary: One thing that always bothered me about the final fantasy series was the lack of backgroundspersonalities for the aeonssummons. However, a collaborative effort (between hitokiri and I) to change this has been made. Enter the realm of saiya, and allow your


Purgatory's Paradox

CH.1

Hazel sat impatiently at her desk, constantly tapping her fingers on the cold, marble desk in front of her. Her amber eyes were wide with anticipation; all her motions were sudden and jerky. She had been awaiting this moment all summer long; how could these last five minutes seem to pass even slower than the last several months? She took in a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm down. Soon, she thought to herself, she would have her chance. She would get to duel another student for the very first time.

She had dreamt of this moment all of her life. Ever since she was a small child she had always been eager to learn the ways of a true aeon, but it was only until the end of the last school year that she had finally learned how to activate the powers that were dormant within her. She was so thrilled when she attained her abilities; she was incapable of calming down for weeks. She took much pride in the fact that she had inherited the element her mother, Shiva, commanded; the element of ice.

It was of course, no surprise that she inherited the element of her mother. She looked every bit like her; from her thigh-length, deep blue hair (which was always pulled back in a tight ponytail) to her pale alabaster skin. She was not as, shall we say, physically developed as her mother as of this date, but that was almost guaranteed to change within the next few years. Hazel, like her mother, also bore dark blue, stripe-like markings on her shoulders, hips, legs, arms, and (though one could not see them, as they were covered by her dress.) breasts. She was analogous to a white tiger, vibrant and in possession of a powerful personality. There was but one physical trait that she did not share with her mother; she had lively yellow eyes, quivering with emotion, that she inherited from her father.

Of course, she acted nothing like her mother. Hazel was wild with uncontrollable passion, always alive. She was yet to gain the quiet and demure persona that her mother possessed, and she had little control over her ever-changing emotions. She was also quite clumsy and unbalanced, yet her mother was able to drift as soundlessly and flawlessly as a swan. She yearned so deeply to be more like her mother, and constantly pressured herself to grow to become her and to win her approval.

This was one of the reasons she was so thrilled to receive her mother's power; she would have a chance to be instructed by her. She was a diligent student, and strove to do her very best under Shiva's watchful gaze. Her mother was strict, but by no means unkind. After learning from her idol in life, she was filled with complete confidence that she would win this duel. She had been taught by the best, and failure was simply impossible.

She gazed down the rows of seats, eyes locked on the two students who were currently engaged in battle. The room was truly a work of architectural art; a marble arena transformed into a classroom. It had the same seats as a lecture hall might, each row of white marble desks higher than the previous one. But at the lowest level of the room was a great open space in which the students competed. On the great marble floor, there were two mosaics. One (made of red, orange, and yellow tiles) was to the left, and was in the shape of a phoenix. The other, done in black and grey tiles, was of a black, six-legged horse with a fierce-looking cloaked rider. Hazel felt a sense of pride whenever she saw this rider on the right side of the arena; the mosaic depicted none other than her father, Odin, whenever he was at full power. She had never actually seen him at full power' only the summoners of earth had the ability to cause this transformation of the otherwise humanoid aeons of Saiya when they called them down to earth. However, she had seen illustrations of her father's true form, and he appeared to be a very formidable opponent.

However, Hazel was currently paying very little attention to the design of the room or the images on the floor. She focused all of her energies on the battle she saw before her, constantly trying to pick up on the moves and techniques that the fighters used. Whether they were aistu or aeons seemed to matter little in the battlefield at their age; they were all currently endowed with nearly the same amount of power. Of course, Hazel knew they day would come when she would have many times the power of any aitsu, but today, she could learn from them. She watched as an aitsu of thunder concluded the battle by taking down an aitsu of fire with a merciless blow.

Hazel could hardly believe it when she had heard the sentence that she had so anxiously awaited all this time to hear.

"Our next fighter will be...hmm. Hazel! Let's see what you can do."

Hazel jumped up so suddenly that her chair fell backwards. Her best friend, Rene, giggled politely as hazel hurriedly and awkwardly dashed down the cold marble steps down the center of the arena. She stood flushed and smiling, grinning ear to ear. She wondered wildly who her opponent would be.

"Let's see some action between opposing elements," The instructor shouted. "How about you, Sabrina?"

Only one single word could accurately describe the very complex thoughts that rushed through Hazel's head at this current point in time.

"...Crap."

In that single instant, all of Hazel's eagerness and excitement was extinguished like a fire put out by a bucket of ice water.

Sabrina had been Hazel's enemy ever since the two of them had learned to speak. She had always threatened to hurt Hazel when she had gained her powers. Not that Hazel had not made threats of her own, but Sabrina had something about her that allowed her to strike fear in your heart whenever she spoke. With Sabrina possessing the power of fire, it was either girl's battle. Sabrina haughtily brushed back her long ebony locks of hair, and strutted flawlessly down the stairs, smirking all the way. She too, had been training under one of her parents (her father, Ifrit) all summer. She was the last person Hazel had wanted to fight. But Hazel was determined. She had trained under her mother; her goddess. She refused to accept failure before the battle even ensued. She took a deep breath, and tried to devise a last-ditch strategy to take down her opponent.

"Now please stand on opposite sides of the arena, and begin on my command." Their instructor pointed to both mosaics so the two girls knew where to stand. Sabrina confidently strolled over to the mosaic of Odin. Hazel, having no other option, nervously walked over to the mosaic of the phoenix. Sabrina glared at Hazel through malevolent black eyes as Hazel tried to prepare herself mentally for the task at hand. She slowly shifted into a fighting stance, ready for the worst. "Just clear your head and remember your training." She tried to tell herself as the seconds counted down the moment when the instructor shouted, "GO!"

Without any warning a torrent of flame rushed towards the little ice fairy, and she stumbled out of the way not an instant too soon. She suffered from a poor landing, falling on her side and scraping her elbow. She looked wildly around to find her opponent. She turned her head around to look behind her back, finding the cocky grin of her opponent to greet her. Just before she could get blown off the battlefield with another wave of fire, she leapt into the air, with flames just missing the tips of her toes. While she was briefly airborne, she wove together a weak shield spell (it's very difficult to create an effective one if you can't concentrate.) and landed ungracefully on the ground. She knew she wasn't safe here. She jumped back up into the air, a momentary sanctuary, and made a vigorous attempt to pummel her opponent with shards of ice. This attack failed; Sabrina had better reflexes than Hazel had bargained for. She had, at this point, landed back on the ground. The fighters both glared at each other, waiting for the right moment, plotting their next move. Hazel's weak and truly useless shield spell had already worn out, and she was without protection. But before she could even begin to create another one, Sabrina lunged at her. Before Hazel knew it, she was on the ground. Below her was cold marble, and above her was her unforgiving opponent. Sabrina had raised her fist, and was about to bring down a handful of flame upon Hazel's pale face before Hazel realized what was going on and rolled over to her left, knocking Sabrina off of her. Sabrina fell onto the ground, the fire in her fist disappearing into nothingness. Hazel automatically stood up. As she looked at her fallen opponent, time seemed to stand still. Hazel looked back on all the times Sabrina had wronged her and her friends. She hated her. She had to take her down. If she didn't win, all was lost.

Hazel concentrated all of her anger into one final, desperate attack. Her fist was pulled back, and she was ready to freeze her opponent. But just as she lunged forward, her plans were destroyed. Sabrina instantly stood up and mercilessly punched Hazel in the stomach. Hazel, more surprised than hurt, collapsed on the floor. She instantly realized that she was foolish for attacking her like that without taking any measures to protect herself. She might have even been able to stand back up and fight, but before she regained her composure she felt a mind-bendingly painful blow to the back. Sabrina had just used her meteor attack; her special ability that she inherited from her father, and she was most proud of it. The pain was unbearable. The flames that surrounded the meteor licked and singed Hazel's back, and she cried out in pain. She didn't even have time to feel the pain inflicted by the actual rock of the car-sized meteor. She felt her back being crushed, her dove-white skin being ripped and torn by the jagged stone falling on top of her. It was as though her mind couldn't grasp the enormity of the injury. She felt pressure but not pain. All became misty and black, her thoughts escaping her before she could grab onto them and keep them close to her. Hazel, no longer in control of her mind or her body, passed out.

Everything was black and unfeeling. Then there was suddenly bright light. Her mind seemed to spin; she could feel voices inside her. They whispered and mingled softly, yet they could not be understood. They said, but didn't tell. The light then began to soften. The voices were no longer inside her now, but around her, and began to seem louder and clearer. Memories morphed into a reality, and as Hazel weakly opened her eyes, the world began to take shape.

"Hey, I think she's waking up!"

"Don't shout so loudly, her head must ache horribly."

Hazel felt a soft, cool hand upon her forehead.

"She should be fine, I just healed her."

"Still, she needs a moment to come around again."

"...Whatever you say."

Hazel groaned. She felt like she had slept for centuries; her body ached with grogginess. As shadows became images, Hazel saw the concerned-looking face of Rene hovering above her. Hazel began to sit up, her muscles stiff and exhausted. A hand, and then an arm, reached behind her to help her sit upright.

"Oh Hazel, are you alright?"

"...Rene?"

Rene's face became less concerned and more relieved. She sighed as though a great weight had been lifted off her chest.

"You passed out. Sabrina attacked you from behind. It was a dirty trick."

"And a very effective one." His cynical voice rang out like the knell of funeral bells. His words were always negative and depressing, yet painfully true.

"Alex, show some sympathy! She was badly hurt."

"Sympathy never made anyone a better fighter."

"You need to be strict yet encouraging when training someone! Not an insensitive jerk!!!"

...And they were off again.

Hazel sighed miserably. She didn't have the energy to hear another one of their pointless arguments.

"...What happened?"

"Sabrina attacked you with a GIANT ROCK!" And energetic voice shouted. Only one person Hazel knew would have described their recollection of past events in this manner. Lev happily continued.

"And then you were like "AAAAAH!" and then you exploded on the floor. And then Sabrina laughed like a giant thing that laughs when they eat a fabric softener. And then some of the faculty dragged you off to the side, and then Alex healed you with a shiny curative spell, and now you're A OKAY! I remember it like it was yesterday!"

"But it happened.... never mind." As overly enthusiastic as his explanation was, it was enough to jog Hazel's memory. She recalled her humiliating defeat. She felt as though it were the end of the world. Sabrina would never let her hear the end of this. And her mother....oh, her mother would be so ashamed of her. How could she gather up the courage to return home now?

"...Was it really that bad?" Hazel murmured.

"Oh, it was AWFUL. You lost SO MISERABLY. Oh, if it was me, I would have been SO EMBARRASSED!"

"Oh Lev, be quiet!" Rene snapped back at Lev. "Hazel, you did just fine. You just have to be sure you defend yourself in case your opponent has a sneak attack in store for you. It's good to make mistakes; that's how you learn."

Hazel was already beginning to feel a little better. Sleepily, her lips began to form a weak smile.

"You shouldn't be so soft, Rene. You can't be so kind in your words if you really want them to sink in." grumbled Alex.

"

"I'm not saying this to her as a trainer! I'm saying it as a friend! And that's more than you'll ever be."

"Hey, I healed her, didn't I? If it weren't for me, she'd still be a bloody pulp!"

Hazel had had enough. "Would you guys just be quiet?! I don't want to talk about this anymore! I feel bad enough, and I just want to forget about how miserably I failed! Now can we just go to our next class already?! We're gonna be late!

For a brief moment, there was an awkward pause. Then a mutual: "okay."

Lev continued to scream of fabric softeners in the background, but no one noticed.

Rene put Hazel's arm over her shoulder to help her stand up.

"Now where's our next class..." Alex reached down into his pocket for his schedule, as the four students walked down one of hundreds of hallways in Saiya's academy.


End file.
